Nevada water rights

43,733 rights at 43,733 points of diversion in 17 counties · fetched October 8, 2026 from Nevada Division of Water Resources

Open Nevada on the mapHow Nevada water rights work
Groundwater
20,118
Spring
12,558
Surface water
10,343
Storage
522

In Nevada's data, 296 have coordinates outside Nevada's county lines. Why

Nevada at a glance

Doctrine
Prior appropriation
Domestic well
Up to 2 acre-feet a year without a permit
Vested-claim deadline
Proof due by December 31, 2027
Groundwater forfeiture
Five successive years of nonuse
Surface water
Not forfeited for nonuse (abandonment still possible)
After a sale
Report of Conveyance with abstract of title

Counties

Counties come from where each right's first point of diversion falls on Census county lines.

Oldest priority dates in Nevada

Seniority is weighed among rights on the same stream system, so this is where the oldest records are rather than a statewide ranking.

Priority date · senior to junior

  • Before 1880
  • 1880–1899
  • 1900–1919
  • 1920–1949
  • 1950–1972
  • 1973–1999
  • 2000 and later
  • No priority date